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I know this is a stocks forum, but man is silver tanking. It's down 61% from its all-time high (in nominal dollars) in 2011. Gold, oil, and other commodities are down, too, but not like this. Futures are now trading at 18.935 USD/ounce.

Volatility in prices tends to cluster; periods of high changes are more likely to be followed by high changes and the opposite is true. When the time is right (soon?), it seems like silver may be a good investment.

Yes it is very volatile - that scares me. As a smaller player with less experience I can't afford how leveraged the futures contracts can be.

Not to completely knock it as maybe you have the means and the expertise to manage a deal properly because some have great success but I personally think for smaller players like myself - commodities are a sucker's investment. It appeals to the less experienced because everyone knows what silver is for example vs. what the global market share of like Oracle Corp. But that doesn't mean it's better for the less experienced. They say something like 85% of traders lose money in commodities and most of all of them are smaller players with less experience.

If I had the means to not worry about risk or I was extremely versed in how commodities work I definitely think I would have different opinion. :)

as far as silver or other PMs they shouldnt be a large portion of your portfolio, PMs should be looked at as a store of wealth more than an investment to earn a profit. IE a pre65 quarter (90% silver) was enough to buy a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk, at the current silver value (17.76 per oz as of time of this post) the silver content of a pre 65 quarter is worth $3.22 which will buy the same. In 1998 (lowest I remember gas being since i began driving) that same quarter would have had a silver content value of around $0.995 (figuring a rough avg of $5.50 per oz for the year) seems like gas was bouncing between .80 and $1 a gallon most of that year.

or you can do like me and buy it because its shiny!

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